Flyer

The WiFi-only HTC Flyer will finally hit Best Buy stores (exclusively) on May 22:

Best Buy today announced that the Wi-Fi only version of the HTC Flyer™ tablet launches on May 22. All Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile standalone stores, as well as BestBuy.com, will have the tablet exclusively at launch. The HTC Flyer is a fast, portable, light-weight tablet that integrates the immersive and highly intuitive HTC Sense™ experience and enables content including videos, music, games and more to be easily accessed and enjoyed. The addition of the HTC Flyer to our tablet lineup gives Best Buy further opportunity to help connect customers with the mobile technology that best meets their needs.

We’re still not sure if it’ll come with a stylus or not, but one thing we do know is that this device provides a completely different experience than the 10.1″ stock Honeycomb tablets we’re seeing in masses. It’s only 7″, runs a tablet version of HTC Sense over Android 2.3 instead of 3.0, is incredibly light, and allows users to take advantage of its unique Scribe technology (once they buy a pen of course). It’s definitely been on our radar since it was unveiled at MWC just a few months back.

Anyone still interested in the Flyer? Too small? Is the lack of Honeycomb a killer?

The speculation over whether or not the HTC Flyer would include a digital stylus in the box at launch was starting to boil over, so we reached out to HTC to see what they could tell us. Bad news folks – the Flyer will hit stores by itself without the fancy pen. The Stylus will be sold separately and they aren’t ready to reveal what pricing will be, although some trusty Android enthusiasts have already discovered that Best Buy is willing to sell it for $79.99.

From an HTC rep:

I understand you would like confirmation if the Digital Stylus would be coming with the Flyer. The Digital Stylus will be sold separately. We currently do not have any pricing information on how much the Digital Stylus would be.

Update: We reached out to HTC again today for further clarification and they basically backed off of everything we had originally reported. They aren’t ready to say whether or not it will ship with a Pen:

I appreciate your interest in the Android tablet known as the HTC Flyer and you were wondering whether the tablet comes with the magic pen or is this accessory separate. HTC unveiled the new HTC Flyer back in February and you are welcome to check out the press release from the worldwide HTC website at www.htc.com/www under the Home tab (http://www.htc.com/www/press.aspx?id=158016&lang=1033). Unfortunately, I do not have any other information concerning the magic pen and whether it would be an accessory included with the Android tablet.

Update 2: Engadgethas heard that only the Best Buy version will ship without a pen. And, that’s lame.

So if you are interested in this non-Honeycomb’d 7″ WiFi-only HTC tablet, you’ll be forking out $499. And if you want to draw all over it and leave your sweety little doodles while she’s taking bubble baths with Hello Kitty dolls, then that’ll cost you another $80 bucks. Still want one? I sort of do.

The HTC Flyer is available for pre-order right now, but without a firm release date, it’s hard to tell when you’ll finally get your hands on this device. Until then though, you can browse the 197-page user guide that just snuck onto the interwebs. A full tablet Sense walk-through is included, but what you’ll definitely want to check out is page 45 which includes the tablet pen overview. (more…)

The HTC Flyer has been available on pre-sale since April 24 in Best Buy stores, but as of this weekend, also became available online for $499. We still have no word on an actual release date, but its new landing page does offer up at estimated arrival date of 5/22-5/27, so we’ll surely be marking that week on our calendars.

Now, I don’t about you guys, but after having a XOOM for 2 months, I’m starting to really look forward to this 7″ entry from HTC. It should have Honeycomb shortly after launch, will be ultra-portable, and again, is sexy as hell. Anyone skipping the Tegra 2 wave and going with the smaller Sense-filled Flyer? (more…)

We still aren’t sure when the HTC Flyer will be released, but we can download the first RUU for this 7″ tablet and start digging inside to see what this Scribe technology is all about. Don’t forget, you can pre-order it from Best Buy now, just don’t expect to walk out with a firm launch date.

The HTC Flyer is getting closer to that “Spring” release we heard about back in March. The WiFi-only version of this 7″ 1.5GHz single-core tablet with nifty Scribe technology will go on pre-sale starting this Sunday, April 24 at Best Buy stores for $499.

My feelings over the Flyer are still pretty mixed. Without Honeycomb, most people are writing this off as a failure, but you can’t count out HTC’s new version of Sense made specifically for a tablet. If anyone could do the first tablet skin right, it would be HTC. Plus, Scribe technology is something we haven’t seen on any other tablet including the dual-core beasts. Oh, and it’s damn sexy lookin’.

We haven’t talked about the HTC Flyer much on this site, but are starting to think it’s time we do since the wifi-only model is headed to Best Buy any day now. As many of you know, the Flyer is HTC’s 7″ Gingerbread (not Honeycomb) tablet that runs a custom version of Sense for big screens and has “Scribe Technology” which allows you to draw, highlight or write on almost any screen at any time. It has front and back cameras, a 1.5GHz single-core processor and truthfully, is no slouch. At least that’s what HTC will have you believe as they try to sell you on it through this new 6-minute video. And I’ve got to admit, they’ve done a pretty nice job of it. (more…)

Mobile World Congress introduced us to 3 brand spankin’ new Android tablets to battle it out with the Motorola XOOM for top dog in 2011. We saw the LG Optimus Pad (G-Slate), the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and most recently, the HTC Flyer. All of them look like incredible products that come off as being very similar, but once you dig down deep, you realize they all have tweaks here or there that make them slightly different. The XOOM is the first and on Verizon’s 4G network, the LG is all about 3D, the new Galaxy Tab is lightweight and stylish, and the Flyer took a different 7″ approach, but has a new Scribe technology.

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